Culture 5 Asian Pacific American Literature

A.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lin, Grace. 2009. WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780316114271

B.  PLOT SUMMARY

WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON is an enchanting tale that takes place in the poverty-stricken village of Fruitless Mountain. Minli is the young protagonist in the story, who lives in a dilapidated home with her parents. Minli's father's reads stories to her every evening and inspires her to set out on an amazing quest to locate the Old Man on the Moon. Minli has hopes and dreams of  acquiring great riches for her family. While Minli is on her journey, she encounters an array of colorful characters and magical beings, who include a flightless dragon that travels with Minli to find her good fortune.

C.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

Minli, is an enterprising young girl from an impoverished village who purchases a magical goldfish and journeys with a flightless dragon to see the Old Man of the Moon. Minli longs to change her family’s poor fortune. Minli shares, “What a poor fortune we have. Every day, Ba and Ma work and work and we still have nothing. I wish I could change our fortune.”  Minli buys a goldfish from the goldfish man who shares, “Goldfish means plenty of gold. Having a bowl of goldfish means your house will be full of gold and jade.”

The themes in WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON are contentment and thankfulness. These themes are frequently shared throughout the book. For instance, "As Minli looked at the buffalo boy, aglow with happiness against his poor surroundings, she saw it was enough for him. More than enough, as the smile that kept curling up on his face told her." Minli's travels alerts her to be thankful and content with what she possesses  and only when this is accomplished, she will obtains true riches. In addition to Minli's character change, Ma, her mother, change as well. In the beginning of the book, Ma is unenthusiastic about Minli’s attempt to bring good fortune to the family’s household when Minli purchases a goldfish. Ma states, “It will take more than a goldfish to bring fortune to our house.” However, after Ma believes she has lost Minli, she understands the importance of being thankful for her. She shares with the reader, "How lucky she had been! She was at last able to see that her daughter's laughter and love could not be improved by having the finest clothing or jewels, that joy had been in her home like a gift waiting to be opened."

The names of characters, symbols, the places, and illustrations are prevalent Chinese cultural markers in the story. The characters names are traditional Chinese names: Minli, Ma, Ba, Jin, Da-A-Fu, and Loa Loa. The symbols in the story are Chinese cultural markers: The goldfish, dragon, red thread, rabbit, monkeys, and the Old Man of the Moon. The physical regions in the book are Chinese cultural markers: Fruitless Mountain, Jade River, Never-Ending Mountain, and the City of Bright Moonlight. The illustrations in the book are distinctive  Chinese cultural markers, which adds an ancient Chinese flare to enhance the text. Images of the characters skin tone, facial features, body types, ancient attire,  architecture, hairstyles, and the rural villages are all cultural markers representative of the Chinese culture.

D.  REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist

*Starred Review*  “Lin creates a strong, memorable heroine and a mystical land. Stories, drawn from a rich history of Chinese folktales, weave throughout her narrative, deepening the sense of both the characters and the setting and smoothly furthering the plot. Children will embrace this accessible, timeless story about the evil of greed and the joy of gratitude. Lin's own full-color drawings open each chapter.”

BookPage

“Grace Lin’s latest book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, is part Chinese legend, part Zen storytelling, and part feminist-inspired folktale .  .  . Suspenseful without being scary, complex without being complicated, this spirited tale of self-discovery and fate has a little something for every reader.”

Horn Book Guide

“Interspersed with the main story are folktales explaining past events or anecdotes allowing characters to relate their experiences. Lovely full-page illustrations in blues, reds, greens, and luminous golds as well as delicate chapter-openers, all influenced by traditional Chinese art, contribute to the folklore-inspired fantasy's sense of timelessness.”

Horn Book Magazine

“The book's format reflects this interconnectedness: interspersed with the main text are folktales explaining past events or stories allowing characters to relate their experiences. Likewise, as Lin's appended author's note indicates, her own life story informs the work, as do her dozen cited sources. Lovely full-page illustrations in blues, reds, greens, and luminous golds as well as delicate chapter-openers, all influenced by traditional Chinese art, contribute to this original, folklore-inspired fantasy's sense of timelessness. The book's numerous typos are unfortunate.”

Kirkus

“Lin deftly incorporates elements from Chinese folk- and fairy tales to create stories within the main story and provide context for Minli's quest. With her "lively and impulsive spirit," Minli emerges a stalwart female role model who learns the importance of family, friendship and faith during her amazing journey. Richly hued illustrations reinforce the Chinese folk theme.”

Library Media Connection

“Inspired by Chinese folk tales, author/illustrator Grace Lin brilliantly weaves tales within a tale as she takes Minli on the adventure of a lifetime beginning with magical goldfish and ending with an encounter with the Old Man of the Moon. Readers will love this extraordinary tale with its fanciful characters, colorful illustrations, and the hopes and dreams of a determined and courageous young girl.”

School Library Journal

“The author's writing is elegant, and her full-color illustrations are stunning. Minli's determination to help her family, as well as the grief her parents feel at her absence, is compelling and thoroughly human.”

E.  CONNECTIONS

Other books by Grace Lin:

THE YEAR OF THE DOG  ISBN 9780316060028

DIM SUM FOR EVERYONE  ISBN 9780440417705

THE RED THREAD ISBN  9780807569221

THE YEAR OF THE RAT  ISBN: 9780316114264

A.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Say, Allen. 2010. THE BOY IN THE GARDEN. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 9780547214108

B.  PLOT SUMMARY

THE BOY IN THE GARDEN is a tale about a young boy named Jiro, who remembers the story his mother tells him about a young woodcutter, who lives alone in a little cottage. The woodcutter finds a crane struggling in a snare so he sets it free. 
The story begins with Jiro and his father visiting Mr. Ozu, after New Years.  Mr Ozu is a rich friend of Jiro's father. During  their visit, Jiro peers out Mr. Ozu's  picture windows to see his immense and lust garden. Upon closer observation, Jiro notices a live crane. Thus,  he remembers his mother's story about the woodcutter and the crane. To Jiro, the crane, like the legend in Jiro's mother's story, comes to life and Jiro discovers a world intertwined between dreams and reality. 

C.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

The picture book THE BOY IN THE GARDEN is a tale of suspense and mystery woven into a world of reality of and dreams. The protagonist in the story is a young boy named Jiro. Jiro is a child who escapes reality when he entered the world of the crane in Mr. Ozu's gardens.  Jiro meets a beautiful woman who offers to weave something for him, just like the sad crane woman in the fairy tale his mother reads to him. Shifting back and forth between the dream fairy tale world and the real garden, Jiro speculates what is factual and what is a dream. The story book is inspired by Allen Say’s own experiences as a young boy, in Japan. This story book is Say’s attempt to capture the thoughts and feelings of the little boy whose father and friend did not understand him. Say offers, "'The boy put on his coat and went outside. From behind a big rock, he peeked at a tall bird standing in the garden. He took a slow step and stopped. He took another step and the stones crunched beneath his feet. The bird did not move. Slowly he crept on the noisy stones, holding his breath, eyes fixed on the bird. One step away, he raised his arms . . . Ha, ha, ha!' busts of laughter rang out. That's only a statue, Jiro, Father called from the house. How charming, Mr Ozu said. The two men laughed together. The boy ran from the bronze crane. He ran until he could not see the house. Still, laughter rang in his ears. They were watching me the whole time,' he said panting.  Papa thinks I'm foolish and Mr. Ozu thinks I'm silly.'" The cultural markers in this story are the characters names, setting, time, traditions, and customs. 
The Japanese names are cultural markers in this story: Mr. Ozu, Jiro and Jiro-San. The setting is a cultural marker in the story: "The story takes place in the winter, at a villa in a famous garden, near the woodcutter's house. The story takes place on the third day of January." The Crane Woman offers the following about he weather,"The snow is too deep to play in, she told him." Traditions and customs are infused throughout the text and in the illustrations. For example, young children should be polite to their elders and mind their manners is a cultural marker in the book. Jiro father states,"We are in a very famous garden, said father. And there are many treasures in the house, so mind your manners,"  "Mr. Ozu gave the boy a New Year's present  an envelope no bigger than a name card. The boy knew there was money inside , but it was impolite to open it until he got home. So he smiled his thanks and looked out the window while the grownups talked. When he wandered out of the room, no one noticed." The custom of taking off ones shoes before entering a structure or home is a Japanese cultural marker in the story. This cultural marker is illustrated in Say's watercolor drawings. The kimono and obi is a cultural marker in the story. Jiro shares,"A folder kimono lay by the fire. It's too small for a grownup, he said. Maybe the woodcutter has a son." "Jiro took off his coat and tired on the kimono. It was just his size. Mother usually had to help him with the obj, but this one he could tie behind his back. Suddenly he felt older." Finally, bowing is a Japanese cultural marker in the story. For example, the Crane Woman shares, "Welcome, Jiro-San," she said, and bowed." THE BOY IN THE GARDEN is a well written and illustrated picture book that offers  the reader an insiders lens into the Japanese culture. Children of all ages will find the book engaging and visually attractive. 

D.  REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist

“Say's artwork, with its clean, quiet scenes, always pleases, and the more perceptive child will take much away from this."

Horn Book Guide

“In this gently unsettling tale, young Jiro is lured into fantasy by a lifelike bronze statue of a crane. Entering a cottage, he's fed by a woman who resembles "The Grateful Crane" from the folktale his mother told him. Say's compositions seem saturated in silence even when characters speak. Rectilinear architecture sets off his rounded organic forms, while ample luminous spaces become dramatic settings.

Horn Book Magazine

A gently unsettling tale of the power of the imagination.”

Kirkus

“This is a beautiful, moving, quietly mysterious read, ripe with possibilities for interpretation and contemplation.” 

Library Media Connection

“Once again Say depicts an element of Japanese culture through deftly chosen text and stunning watercolor illustrations. Text on one page connects with the adjacent artwork to complete each aspect of this special story.”

Publishers Weekly

“Caldecott Medalist Say (Grandfather's Journey), his work always painstaking and poignant, ventures tentatively into the realm of fantasy.”

School Library Journal

“Carefully chosen words mesh seamlessly with dramatic and effective paintings, bringing both energy and tranquility to carry the story to its thought-provoking ending.”

E.  CONNECTIONS

Other books by Allen Say:

THE BICYCLE MAN ISBN 9780395506523

EL CHINCO ISBN 9780780763616

ALLISON ISBN 9780618495375

STRANGER IN THE MIRROR ISBN 9780395938836

A.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Park, Linda Sue. 2004. Ill. by Julie Downing. THE FIREKEEPER’S SON. NY, New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 9780618133376

B.  PLOT SUMMARY

In Linda Sue Park's  picture book THE FIREKEEPER'S SON, Sang-hee’s father is the firekeeper in their quaint village. He lights the bonfire on the mountain top to inform the next village that all is safe. The bonfire signals to the firekeeper in the next village to light a bonfire on their mountain top to signal the village next to continue the pattern of the bonfire signals until the signal fire reaches the king. 

C.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

THE FIREKEEPER'S SON takes place in eighteenth-century Korea, after Sang-hee's father injures his ankle.  Sang-hee attempts to take over his father's job of lighting the evening bonfire that signals to the King's palace that all is well in all of the villages. In the back of the book, Park reveals in the Author's  Note, the historical events surrounding the bonfires in the 1800s. Park's shares, "The bonfire signal system used in Korea was very complicated . . . South Mountain-the last mountain facing the king's palace-actually had four bonfires. Each fire had two 'halves'-the left and the right, as seen from the palace-and together the eight provinces. Additional fires could be lit to convey further information, so the court would know not only which province was facing danger but things like the size of the enemy forces and how well armed they were!." In the text, Sang-hee’s father explains, "If ever we see enemy ships, I will not light our  fire. And on and on, until the king sees only darkness on the last hump. He will know that trouble has come to our land, and he will send soldiers to fight the enemy." The Korean custom of lighting the bonfire was a tradition starting with Sang-hee’s grandfather. Sang-hee's father states, “We are fortunate, Sang-hee's father said. In your time, and my time, and your grandfather's time, the fire has always been lit. It is good to live in a time of peace." 
The historical setting and the ancient custom and tradition of lighting a bonfire to signal peace throughout the land is an authentic Korean cultural marker in the story. Also, the protagonist's Korean name, Sang-hee, is a cultural markers in the book. Additionally, the rural Korean village is a cultural marker in the story. The author describes the poor rural Korean setting :"Sang-hee looked around. A few huts made of wood and mud. A few cows. A few chickens, a few dogs. It did not look like an important village." The historical setting is a cultural marker in the story. Downing's images of the villager's clothing, head wear, handcrafted tools, man made stick fences, huts, pottery, wicker baskets, handmade clay toy soldiers, and hand crafted tongs to pick up the hot coal are all historical representations of a far distance past and poor social economic existence.  Further, Downing's illustrations reveal to the reader magnificent images of the characters skin tones, eyes colors, and black glossy hair colors and textures. Further, the watercolor and pastel illustrations provides the reader with specific cultural markers detailing the characters physical attributes. Finally, through text and realistic illustrations, Park's and Downing presents the reader a lens into a historical and culturally rich Korean world. THE FIREKEEPER'S SON is an excellent example of a book that is infused with authentic Korean cultural markers displayed through stunning illustrations and engaging text.

D.  REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist

“Park, who won a Newbery Medal for her novel A Single Shard (2001), tells a picture-book story set in Korea in the early 1800s about a young boy in a remote village who suddenly finds himself serving his country. Downing's handsome, watercolor-and-pastel double-page pictures personalize the history, showing realistic close-ups of the child, who plays soldiers and dreams of the excitement of battle. In contrast are the panoramic views far across the country as the boy tends the flame that preserves peace from mountain to mountain. Add this to those lighthouse stories about the brave child who must take over for adults.”

Horn Book

“Aptly capturing a young boy's point of view, this well-written story, set in nineteenth-century Korea, is accompanied by handsome if somewhat romanticized illustrations.”

Kirkus

“Drawing once again on her heritage, Newbery Medalist Park tells a tale rooted in the history of Korea. A lovely telling that will bring readers back to read or hear this story one more time.”

Library Media Connection

“The story is richly complemented by the illustrations. Together they weave a tender folktale that will engage young readers. This tale is about a fictional family and the real story of the Korean bonfire signal system, which flourished into the late 19th century. Linda Park's words are suspenseful and enticing, and the illustrations bring an element of light into each page.”

Publishers Weekly

“Newbery Medalist Park (A Single Shard) brings an accomplished novelist's sensibility to this suspenseful picture book set in 19th-century Korea, fully developing her characters despite the abbreviated format. Assured, empathetic storytelling involves readers in Sang-hee's inner conflict. Downing (Mozart, Tonight) amplifies the tension with dramatically composed watercolor-and-pastel illustrations. While Sang-hee debates lighting the fire, his eyes nearly fill the spread, transfixed on the coal he holds and reflecting its hot orange glow. Elsewhere, sparks fly off the coal, metamorphosing into bright metal points on the armor of the soldiers he imagines. The notion of duty to others versus personal longing adds depth to an already fascinating snippet of history.”

School Library Journal Reviews

“Park's command of place, characterization, and language is as capable and compelling in this picture book as it is in her novels. Children will be intrigued by this early form of wireless communication, caught up in the riveting dilemma, and satisfied by the resolution.”

E.  CONNECTIONS

Allow students to write and draw a picture of their favorite part of the book and share it with a partner or with their group. The teacher may help students make a class book of their story and illustrations to place in the library center.

Culture 4: Native American Literature

A.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alexie, Sherman. 2007. Ill. by Ellen Forney. THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN.  NY, New York: Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316013680

B.  PLOT SUMMARY

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie is a semiautobiographical account of Alexie’s teenage years on a Spokane Indian reservation. Alexie’s story is told by Arnold Spirit, AKA Junior, a fourteen year old promising cartoonist. Junior begins life with a battery of medical problems; this causes him countless trials and tribulations throughout his adolescence. Junior faces life’s demands and struggles with humor and intellect. Alexie’s story is a testament to Junior’s strong ability to persevere and be successful in the course of difficult times.

C.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN journals the life of a fourteen year old Spokane Indian, named Arnold Spirit, Jr. Junior, as he is called by his family and friend, is an avid reader and talented cartoonist. Junior is born with encephalitis and has a string of disabilities. He is the persistent mark of bullies on the “rez.”  He has one best friend named Rowdy, who is his angry bodyguard. On Junior’s first day of high school, he realizes that his geometry book is the one that his mother used when she attended the reservation school, over thirty years ago. In rage, Junior hurls the geometry textbook at Mr. P and breaks his nose. As a result, Junior is suspended by the school. Recognizing Junior's aptitude, Mr. P suggests to his family that he transfers to a school twenty two miles away, which happens to be a well-to-do farm town where the only other Native American is the team mascot. Junior tires of his life on the reservation and wishes that this new school will provide him with a better education and an opportunity to move away from the impoverished conditions on the reservation. 

Junior anticipates adversity when he transfers from the reservation school to the school in Reardan, but soon finds himself making friends with the popular students, the nerds, and he becomes the star player on the varsity basketball team. The story reaches a climax when Junior returns to his former school to play a basketball game against his friend Rowdy. 

Throughout Sherman Alexie’s book, the reader is provided with an array of recognizable Spokane Indian cultural markers. For example, the author offers details relating to the setting, customs, dress, and symbols. The setting of the story is contemporary and takes place in the year 2006.  Junior offers the time, place and physical location of the story, when he shares his thoughts concerning his relationship with his best friend Rowdy. Junior states, “Both of us were pushed into the world on November 5, 1992, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane . . . I figure Rowdy and I have spent an average of eight hours a day together for the last fourteen years. That’s eight hours times 365 days times fourteen years.” Further, Junior offers, “Reardan is the rich, white farm town that sits in the wheat fields exactly twenty-two miles away from the rez . . . Wellpinit, that smaller, Indian town,” and “I was setting in a freshman classroom at Wellpinit High School.”   In addition to the cultural markers of the Spokane  Indian's culture and traditions, social, and economic status of the characters, the reoccurrence of alcoholism is a resounding cultural marker in the book. Throughout the story, Junior is faced with the debilitating influence of alcoholism, which overshadows the lives of his family and friend. For example, in one year, Junior loses his grandmother to a drunken driver, his sister to a drunken blackout, during a house fire, and his father's best friend Eugene. Eugene is killed by Bobby. Bobby is Eugene’s drinking buddy. Junior states, “When Bobby was sober enough to realize what he’d done, he could only call Eugene’s name over and over, as if that would bring him back. A few weeks later, in jail, Bobby hung himself with a bed sheet.” Overcoming Adversity is another cultural marker in the book. In his love of drawing, Junior finds an outlet to endure his painful existence on the reservation. Junior states, “I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats.”  Further, ethnic identity and racism is a prevalent cultural marker in this novel. While Junior’s parents support his decision to attend school in Reardon, the people on the reservation view him as a traitor, an apple, "red on the outside and white on the inside.” Moreover, while at Reardon, the majority of the teachers and students stereotype him. Junior shares, "When I am in Reardon, I am half Indian, and when I am  in Wellpinit, I am half white.” Junior offers, “It was like being Indian was my job, but it was only a part-time job. And it didn’t pay well at all.”
 Poverty is a cultural marker in this story, as well. Junior struggles with trying to escape a life of extreme poverty. For example, when Junior’s dog Oscar gets sick and there is no money to see a veterinarian, Junior’s dad has to shoot the dog. Junior states, "Dad just looked down at me with the saddest look in his eyes. He was crying. He looked weak. I wanted to hate Dad and Mom for our poverty.”

Ellen Forney’s illustrations contain elements suitable and significant to the story that helps to bring the characters alive for the reader. Ellen Forney's straightforward pencil cartoons correspond perfectly within the story and display the promising artist blossoming within Junior. Forney's drawings, appearing throughout the novel, enhance the text and could exist alone to convey Junior's story. The illustrations guide the reader and presents an accurate portrayal of Junior's life on and off the Spokane reservation. Ellen Forney's illustrations offers the reader an alternative perspective into Junior's turbulent existence and a different medium of expression for Alexie's  multidimensional protagonist.

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS  

Booklist

“Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience, and he doesn't pull many punches as he levels his eye at stereotypes both warranted and inapt. A few of the plotlines fade to gray by the end, but this ultimately affirms the incredible power of best friends to hurt and heal in equal measure. Younger teens looking for the strength to lift themselves out of rough situations would do well to start here.”

BookPage

“Sherman Alexie's first novel for young adults is funny, self-deprecating and serious all at once. With his perceptive narrator, Alexie deftly taps into the human desire to stand out while fitting in.”

Horn Book Magazine

“The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally -- and hilariously and triumphantly -- bent in this novel about coming of age on the rez.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Alexie nimbly blends sharp wit with unapologetic emotion in his first foray into young-adult literature. “

Library Media Connection

“Author Sherman Alexie writes with humor and wit. The story is bittersweet and intense; events are sometimes shocking, but the author does an excellent job of keeping the novel moving at an interesting pace. Reluctant readers would enjoy the changes of fonts and the humor of our not-so-mainstream hero.”

Publishers Weekly

“Screenwriter, novelist and poet, Alexie bounds into YA with what might be a Native American equivalent of Angela's Ashes, a coming-of-age story so well observed that its very rootedness in one specific culture is also what lends it universality, and so emotionally honest that the humor almost always proves painful.

 Jazzy syntax and Forney's witty cartoons examining Indian versus White attire and behavior transmute despair into dark humor; Alexie's no-holds-barred jokes have the effect of throwing the seriousness of his themes into high relief.”

School Library Journal

“Alexie's tale of self-discovery is a first purchase for all libraries.”

Voice of Youth Advocates

“Alexie's portrayal of reservation life, with the help of a great lineup of supporting characters, is realistic and fantastical and funny and tragic-all at the same time.”

E.  CONNECTIONS

According to Sherman Alexie, “Teenagers, of every class, color and creed, feel trapped by family, community and tribal expectations. And teenagers have to make the outrageous and heroic decision to re-create themselves.” Students may find the following books that relate to their ever evolving lives of interest:

Alder, Elizabeth. 2002. CROSSING THE PANTHERS PATH. ISBN 978037416627 

Carvelle, Marlene. WHO WILL TELL MY BROTHER. ISBN 9780786816576

Eskilsen, Erik. 2004. OFFSIDES.  ISBN 9780618462848

Mikaelsen, Ben. 2005. TOUCHING SPIRIT BEAR. ISBN 9780060734008

Myers, Walter Dean. 2007. STREET LOVE. ISBN 9780064407328

Smelcer, John .2006.THE TRAP. ISBN 9780805-79395
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2001. RAIN IS MY INDIAN NAME. Ill. by Lori Earley. ISBN  9780688173975
Soto, Gary. 2006. BURIED ONIONS. ISBN 9780152062651

A.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bruchac, Joseph. 2005. CODE TALKER: A NOVEL ABOUT THE NAVAJO MARINES OF WORLD WAR TWO. NY, New York: Dial Books. ISBN 9781428182974

B.  PLOT SUMMARY

In Joseph Bruchac’s CODE TALKER: A NOVEL ABOUT THE NAVAJO MARINES OF WORLD WAR TWO, the protagonist in the story is Ned Begay.  At the age of six, Ned Begay is sent to a mission boarding school to learn English and the ways of the “white man.” During his mission stay, Begay is taught that the Navajo language is worthless and he is brutally disciplined for speaking it.  Ironically, at the age of sixteen, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited by the Marine Corps for a top-secret task to become code talkers. Throughout World War Two, the code talkers saved numerous American lives and were a vital part of the war by sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code, using the Navajo language.  

C.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

The story of the Navajo code talker is told by a grandfather relating his tale of being a Navajo code talker to his grandchildren.  In the unhurried nature of a Native Indian storyteller, Joseph Bruchac assumes the role of  the Navajo grandfather, who tells his grandchildren about his life before, during and after World War Two as a code talker. Ned Begay, the Protagonist in the novel, begins his story with his early childhood education at “Rehoboth Mission," at the tender age of six.  Ned Begay, aka Kii Yazhi, describes the customs, traditions, symbols, and dress of the Navajo people. For example, Kii Yazhi, shares, “Like me, those boys and girls were wearing their finest clothing. Their long black hair glistened from being brushed again and again by loving relatives. The newest deerskin moccasins they owned were on their feet. Like me, many wore family jewelry made of silver, inset with turquoise and agate and jet. Our necklaces and bracelets, belts and hair ornaments were a sign of how much our families loved us, a way of reminding those who would now be caring for us how precious we were in the eyes of our relatives.”   

In the beginning of the book, Ned Begay notes the cultural markers of the Navajo family customs and traditions, character's names, physical environments, and speech patterns to the reader.  For instance, ,“Suddenly, as if everyone had remembered their manners all at once, we began to introduce ourselves to each other as Navajos are always supposed to do. We said hello, spoke our names, told each other our clan and where we were born and shows us how to grow. By knowing each other’s clan-the clan of the mother that we were born to, the clan of the father that we were born for-we can recognize our relatives . . .’Yaateeh,’ a tall Navajo boy with a red head band said to me. 'Hello. I am Many Horses. I am born to Bitter Water Clan and born for Towering House. My birthplace is just west of Chinle below the hills there to the west.’ ‘Yaateeh. I am Kii Yazhi. I was born for Mud Clan and Born to Towering House. My birth place is over near Grants. I am the son of Gray Mustache.’”  
Ned's mother and father's language patterns are shared with the reader, when Ned visits home and asks his mother and father to allow him to enlist in the Marines: "Son, 'my mother said, 'wait outside while your father and I talk of this.'" "Son, my father said, 'we are proud of you. What you want to do is a good thing. However, your mother and I both think that you are not yet old enough. You are still too young to become a Marine. Wait through another winter. If this was is still going on, then we will give you our blessing to join up." 

Another cultural marker in the book is the specific references to the traditional Navajo ceremonies. For example, although Ned and his family is Catholic, they practice the Navajo ceremonies. For instance, before Ned leaves for boot camp, his parents insist that he gets the protection of  “Hozhooji” the Blessingway. He states, "I had to go with my parents to a protection of 'Hozhooji' the Blessingway, I might be kept safe when I went into danger. I was glad to do that. The Blessingway is done for all that is good. That is it's only purpose." Further,  Ned uses the ceremonial corn pollen for pray. He shares, "I stood facing the rising sun. I took corn pollen from the pouch I always carried at my waist, touched it to my tongue and the top of my head, then lifted it up the four sacred directions as I greeted the dawn. That pouch stayed with me whereever I went during the war. The blessing of that corn pollen helped keep me calm and balanced and safe. Next, Ned sends his dirty fatigues home to stand in for him during the protection ceremony. He writes, "Dear Parents. Here are my clothes, still stained with the sweat and mud and blood of Bougainville. Please use these to stand for me in a protection ceremony." Ned explains, "On the day when prayers and songs would be offered to ask help for me, my clothes would be there, in the hands of my family. On that day I would feel the presence of the Holy People, even though I was an ocean away from my home."
CODE TALKER: A NOVEL ABOUT THE NAVAJO MARINES OF WORLD WAR TWO is a well written novel that will leave its readers wanting to learn more about the code talkers. 

D.  REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist

“The narrative pulls no punches about war's brutality and never adopts an avuncular tone. Not every section of the book is riveting, but slowly the succession of scenes, impressions, and remarks build to create a solid, memorable portrayal of Ned Begay.”

Horn Book Guide

“Unconvincingly framed as reminiscence that a WWII veteran share with his grandchildren, this novel is larded with military history, information about the Navajo code-talkers, and awkwardly set passages about the beauty and natural wisdom of Navajo life. There is no plot, characterization is generic, and while real people are part of the story, their dialogue is fictionalized and unlikely.”

Kirkus

“With its multicultural themes and well-told WWII history, this will appeal to a wide audience.“

Library Media Connection

“Told from the perspective of a grandfather telling the history to his grandchildren, Bruchac's voice as a master storyteller weaves stories, characters, and research into a compelling story of war, sacrifice, and personal journey. Heavily researched, this is a novel of still little known part of history within a culture and the larger United States that will leave readers with a different perspective of World War II.”

School Library Journal

“Bruchac's gentle prose presents a clear historical picture of young men in wartime, island hopping across the Pacific, waging war in the hells of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Iwo Jima. No sensational and accurate, Bruchac's tale is quietly inspiring, even for those who have seen Windtalkers, or who have read such nonfiction works as Nathan Aaseng's Navajo Code Talkers (Walker, 1992), Kenji Kawano's Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers (Northland, 1990), or Deanne Durrett's Unsung Heroes of World War II: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers (Facts On File, 1998). For those who've read none of the above, this is an eye-opener.”

Voice of Youth Advocates

“Ned tells his own story in simple, measured prose, as a grandfather's tale to his grandchildren. The author never allows his lovely and poignant novel to become a polemic against the mindless abuse of the mission schools or the horrors of war in the Pacific, but he instead offers a portrait of a brave and generous man who represents any teenager caught in the forces of history. This fine novel should find a place in all collections serving young adults.”

E.  CONNECTIONS

Tell students to work together to create messages using the dictionary. Then tell groups to exchange papers to decode one another's messages.  Give students an example of how the code might work. (For example, boy in Navajo code might be "shush ne-ahs-jah tsah-as-zih." Shush is the Navajo word for "bear"; ne-ahs-jah is the Navajo word for "owl"; and tsah-as-zih is the Navajo word for "yucca." If you take the first letter of each translated word, those letters spell boy.)

The above activities are taken from the EducationWorld web site: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2213.shtml

Other books by Joseph Bruchac:
Bruchac, Joseph. 2007. BEARWALKER. ISBN 9780061123092
Bruchac, Joseph. 2005. WHISPER IN THE DARK. ISBN 978006580872

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Begay, Shonto. 1995. NAVAJO: VISION AND VOICES ACROSS THE MESA. NY, New York: Scholastic INC. ISBN 9780590461535 

B. PLOT SUMMARY

Shonto Begay collection of poetry offers the reader an extraordinary glimpse into the world of the Navajo. Begay’s book of poems is coupled with twenty of his most remarkable paintings. Shonto Begay's story book transports the reader from the spiritual, into his childhood and ending with a tribute to life and rebirth. 

C.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

In Shonto Begay’s picture book, the reader is presented with a collection of authentic Navajo cultural markers. For example, Begay provides the reader with realistic settings, customs, dress, and symbols of the Navajo people. Moreover, Begay’s illustrations are appropriate and meaningful and enhance the story. 

In NAVAJO: VISION AND VOICES ACROSS THE MESA, Shonto Begay creates an anthology of prose and free verse poetry from the viewpoint of a modern day young Native American. He teams his stunning oil paintings with his strong and polished poetry. Begay's poetry reveals many facets of his personal life and culture, which is  a very unique and interesting. Begay shares, “The paintings and poems in this book explore facets of Navajo life that are rarely touched upon in Western literature. They will take you into the corners of my world, the Navajo world, so that you may experience daily life on the mesa in the twentieth century. You will also feel the echoes and reverberations of the way things were here on the mesa many hundreds of years before Columbus.”  Further, in Begay’s introduction, he states, “I live in a dual society like many in my generation of Navajo. We extract from the past to maintain harmony within. We acknowledge the present and the high-tech world we have been thrust into” He adds information about his own home, a hogan, with a “telephone, cable television, and fax machine” From the start to the final page of his picture book, Begay offers the reader an personal invitation into his world.

Begay helps the young reader by beginning with poetry that explores the Navajo storytelling tradition and the Creation story. At the onset, the poems seem to reflect the imagination and wide eyes of a youngster, although all of the poems are from the perspective of an adult looking back. Along with illustrations that incorporate suspended illusory images in “Echoes” and “Creation,” the reader will be eager to read more. He deals with his own conflicts between the old and new customs and traditions as can be seen in the poem “Storm Pattern.” In this poem about his mother, Begay describes how he sat next to her as she quilted. He shares, “I told her of strange new images, I had seen in magazines, I tried in vainto talk her into weaving these, new designs. She would smile and tell me she could not.”

Begay flawlessly combines the cultural markers of the Navajo language in his poems, with both phrasing and actual Dine words. He uses Dine words sparingly, and offers meaning within the context in all areas. Such integration of Dine can be seen in the poem “Mother’s Lace” in which Begay describes authentic cultural markers of rituals, ceremonies and customs and traditions with the following verse: “As the sun blazes up from the mesa top, I sprinkle my corn pollen, tracing the path of the sun, as prayer silently leaves my lips. Prayer of humility, prayer for another day. Prayer for family, for animals, for travelers. Prayer especially for hózhó, for harmony. My prayer is strong today.”  In “Anasazi Diaspora,” Begay offers the reader cultural markers of the Navajo names of his family: “’Shi cheii, My Grandfather, where did the Anasazi people go?, ‘Shi’ tsoi, My Grandson, the Anasazi had to leave this land long before Dinéh, the Navajo people, came into the Fourth World." Begay’s poetry and illustrations complement one another. The paintings offer immense variety in colors like the elements of the earth.

Review Excerpts
Horn Book Guide

“Twenty of Begay's beautiful, evocative paintings accompany his original poetry describing some of the emotions, stories, and experiences shared in his Navajo community. Some of the poems are lengthy and are more suitable for an older audience. An index of paintings is appended.”

Publishers Weekly

“With these heartfelt paintings, poems and memoirs, the noted Navajo artist fulfills his stated goal of taking the reader . . .into the corners of my world, the Navajo world.'' Similar in conception to George Littlechild's This Land Is My Land, this book places more emphasis on the traditional and spiritual, its contemporary setting notwithstanding. The sacred intertwines with the everyday; topics here range from storytelling, a solar eclipse and a healing ritual to riding in a truck and attending a tribal fair. Begay also explores the constant struggle for balance between his two worlds, as in Storm Pattern,  where he recalls his mother gently refusing to introduce images he saw in magazines into her rug weaving, images he now recognizes as corporate logos. Some of the paintings are dappled watercolors like those in Ma'ii and Cousin Horned Toad, others acrylics with thick, dynamic brushstrokes. Whatever the style, each reveals indimate knowledge of a people in harmony with the land.”

School Library Journal

“Navajo philosophy and an artist's personal experience infuse this collection of paintings and (mostly free) verse. Begay's subjects vary from the sublime (creation, prayer, death, healing) to the mundane (riding in a truck, splashing in the mud after rain). Coyote (Ma'ii) plays a recurrent and significant role here, but Begay's impulse is to note and celebrate, rather than explain, important aspects of his culture. There are lessons to be learned, both cultural and universal, but obliquely. He does not blame the contemporary Anglo world for anything, but it intrudes, in ways often uncomprehending or disharmonious, and must be reckoned with. He chooses, nevertheless, to end his book in a season of hope with a poem called ``Early Spring.'' The two central themes here, beauty and mystery, find natural expression in 20 acrylic paintings. Their stippled surfaces recall pointillist or Impressionist style, but the artist's palette rests on colors rooted to his people: the vermillion of desert earth and the blues of sky, flower, and turquoise. His figures are dignified but not idealized. Powerful and appealing in both word and image, this reflective book should find a wide audience of sympathetic readers.”

E.  CONNECTIONS

Students may enjoy the following books about Native American customs and traditions: 

Begay, Shonto. 1992. MAII AND COUSIN HORNED TOAD: A TRADITIONAL NAVAJO STORY. ISBN 9780590453905

Duncan, Lois. 2000. Ill. by Shonto Begay. THE MAGIC OF SPIDER WOMAN.  ISBN 9780590461466

Maher, Maher. 2004. Ill. by Shonto Begay. ALICE YAZZIE’S YEAR. ISBN 9781582460809

Casler, Leigh. 1994. Ill by Shonto Begay. THE BOY WHO DREAMED OF AN ACORN. ISBN 9780399225475

Culture 3: Hispanic/Latino(a) Literature

A.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mora, Pat. 2007. YUM! ¡MMMM! ¡QUÉ RICO! : AMERICAS’ SPROUTINGS. Ill. by Rafael López. NY, New York: Lee & Low Books. ISBN 9781584302711

B.  PLOT SUMMARY

YUM! ¡MMMM! ¡QUÉ RICO! : AMERICAS’ SPROUTINGS is written by Pat Mora and illustrated by Rafael López. This collection of Haiku consists of fourteen diverse varieties of plants from the Americas with a paragraph about the origin of each titled variety.

C.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
In Pat Mora’s YUM! ¡MMMM! ¡QUÉ RICO! : AMERICAS’ SPROUTINGS, the author offers the reader an entertaining and spirited collection of poetry that will appeal to both children and adults. Rafael López’s illustrations provide an essential element to Mora’s haikus that forms a picture perfect exhibition of authentic cultural markers of the foods of the Americas. The poems are compiled alphabetically progressing from blueberry, chile, chocolate, corn, cranberry, papaya, peanuts, pecan, pineapple, potatoes, prickly pear, pumpkin, tomato, to vanilla. Mora disperses a small number of Spanish words in her poems that are effortlessly identifiable in italics. The translations for these Spanish words are on the opposite side of the poem’s title page. For example, Mora states, “Chilli in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs and one of the original languages of Mexico, the word became chile in Spanish and chili in English . . . The word chocolate comes from the Nahuatl word xocolatl, which means ‘bitter water.’” According to an excerpt from the back of Mora’s book, she informs the reader of the following, “I love variety . . . Spanish and English . . . I like diversity in people and poetry too. The world’s variety is amazing and delicious.” Regarding the native people of the Americas, she states, ". . . these plants were grown and enjoyed by the peoples of the Americas long before Christopher Columbus or any other Europeans had ever tasted such wonderful foods."
The following three poems are examples of Pat Mora’s vibrant haikus that draw on alliteration, personification, assonance, and sensory imagery.

PINEAPPLE

A stiff, spiky hat

on thick prickly skin, inside

hide syrupy rings.

PEANUT

Smear nutty butter,

then jelly. Gooey party,

my sandwich and me.

CHILE
Dad bites green mouth-fire,
laughs when tears fill his eyes, sighs,
"Mmmm! This heat tastes good."

Rafael López’s illustrations are as delicious and interesting as are the foods in Mora’s haiku. Applying acrylic on wood-panel, López creates vivid and bold pictures with golden reds, blues, oranges, and greens colors. The illustrations are as inviting as the poems. Also, the boldness of the hues and the strength of the acrylic images give the reader a culinary delight in a traditional Mexican mural.  Further, the acrylic on wood panel displays families, celebrations, and traditions, which reflects the diversity of the people of the Americas. There is a folkloric element to López’s murals that offers the reader numerous prominent cultural markers that include an assortment of skin tones and facial features, body types, hairstyles/hair textures, clothing, modern/traditional representations of urban and rural architecture, various representations of transportation, and diverse environments. López illustrations of rainforests, farms, and deserts, urban and rural communities provide the reader with an array of authentic cultural markers of the Hispanic culture.

Pat Mora’s haiku and informational text celebrates foods native to countries throughout the Americas. Readers of all ages will delight in a visual banquet of Mora's zany haiku poems and López dazzling traditional art work of enchanting and succulent foods of the Americas.

D. BOOK REVIEWS

Booklist

"This inventive stew of food haiku celebrates the indigenous foods of the Americas."

Curriculum Connections

"In this cross-curricular treat, imaginative, double-page, lushly rendered acrylic illustrations on wood panels are paired with playful haikus and a paragraph of information to introduce 14 foods indigenous to the Americas, including blueberries, pumpkins, and corn."

Book Links

"Mora's descriptive poetry features wonderful word choices and gets it right to the essence of each food … What makes this collection especially memorable are López' bright, double-page paintings on wood panel, which vibrantly show children and families enjoying each food.”

School Library Journal

 “The art conveys an infectious sense of fun, as smiling suns and moons beam down upon happy children and animals, along with a trumpet-wielding peanut-butter sandwich and a dancing pineapple . . . Teachers will find this a welcome addition to their social-studies units, but it should also win a broad general audience for its inventive, fun-filled approach to an ever-popular topic: food.”

Library Media Connections

"If you love food, this book will appeal to you … These delightful pictures and delicious text meld together for an enticing word banquet. Mora has captured just the right combination of fun, flavor, and information. This is sure to be a hit with almost every reader. The curriculum connections are many, food, haiku, and geography. Teachers and media specialists will love having this book in their collections."

Le Blogac

"From acclaimed Latina poet and author Pat Mora comes a delightful collection of haiku focused on some of the most familiar (and a few unfamiliar) foods that are native to the Americas … With joyous illustrations that practically jump off the page, artist Rafael López captures the essence of each haiku and brings these delicious poems to life."

Paper Tigers

"Chiles, papayas and prickly pears praised in Haiku form . . . Pat Mora, creator of Dia de los Niños/Dia de los Libros, pays tribute to the diversity she embraces and celebrates through her work. Rafael López's … scrumptious mural-like paintings hold meanings beyond the words themselves  I think it’s a terrific combination of haiku about edible plants native to the Americas, factual information about these foods, and vibrant artwork." 

Wild Rose Reader

"This collection of haiku introduces 14 foods from the Americas. López's colorful double-page spreads, rendered in acrylic on wood panels, add to the imaginative presentation of such gastronomic favorites as chocolate, corn, prickly pear, pumpkin, and more. Each haiku is also accompanied by an informative paragraph about the food, including its history and probable origin."

E. CONNECTIONS
This collection will provide a pleasurable approach to introduce haiku to elementary students.

Introduce the above poems by asking students to tell about their favorite food and to draw a picture of it. 

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Soto, Gary. 2009.  PARTLY CLOUDY: POEMS OF LOVE AND LONGING.  New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. ISBN 9780152063016

B. PLOT SUMMARY
PARTLY CLOUDY: POEMS OF LOVE AND LONGING by Gary Soto is a collection of one hundred poems about the emotions and feelings that causes anxiety and tribulation in the lives of young adults. Each of Soto’s poems is written with a sharp lens into the emotional state of teenagers. The point of views and emotions expressed in each poem are genuine and passionate. This compilation is representational of the young person’s heart and soul communicated through free verse. The poems in this collection are voiced by a male and a female teenager.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
PARTLY CLOUDY: POEMS OF LOVE AND LONGING is an exceptional piece of work that will beguile the strongest of young adult readers. This exceptional collection taps into the teenagers murky feelings of young love. The poems in this collection unmistakably offer the reader an insightful glance into the hearts of the adolescent world of uncharted feelings of puppy love.
The cultural markers communicated in PARTLY CLOUDY by Gary Soto represent the culture of the young adult. These markers are articulated in the print of each poem. The titles of some of the poems include: Barriers, The Big Chill, First Kiss, Lazy Cupid, Fake Love, When I Lost You, Sparks, Home Alone, and Liking It, Rumors, Eternal Love, and Stars. Also, this collection is divided into two very distinctive selections. PARTLY CLOUDY offers the reader a section for boys and a selection for girls. This allows the readers of either sex to select the poems that relate to their emotional state. The poems in this compilation are written in free verse. Many of the poems are concise, with a few stanzas that do not rhyme. The cultural markers that connect to the Latino culture are basically nonexistent, except for one poem titled Barriers.  The narrator of the poem states, "Who will understand us?  . . . Not your parents or mine, As I'm Japanese/And you're Mexican." The poet’s culture and the female and male narrators cultures are undetectable in this bold book of poems.  

Although a focus on a specific culture is not prevalent in this poetic masterpiece, Gary Soto's voice is loud and clear: Young love has no cultural boundaries. 

D. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

AWARDS

2011 Pura Belpre Author Award
2010 Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction Honor Book
School Library Journal
“Soto skillfully captures the voice and emotions of young teens in love. The free verse poems are grouped together in two sections: ‘A Girl's Tears, Her Songs’ and ‘A Boy's Body, His Words.’”

Publishers Weekly

 “Teenagers pine for, revel in and recover from early loves and relationships in Soto's (Mercy on These Teenage Chimps ) collection of nearly 80 poems, divided into two sections: “A Girl's Tears, Her Songs” and “A Boy's Body, His Words.”
Booklist

“In rapid, clear free verse, young teens, both girls and boys, speak about falling in love—the jealousy, loneliness, and hurt of rejection and breaking up, as well as the romantic bliss.”
Kirkus Reviews

“The deceptively simple poems examine love from many angles in verses that are by turns funny and poignant. In ‘Obsession,’ a girl talks about having so many pictures of her boyfriend that her optometrist says, ‘A curious case. Young lady, there's a picture / Of a boy at the back of your retinas.’”

E. CONNECTIONS
After reading PARTLY CLOUDY, students may write poems in their journals about their feelings of love.

Related works relating to teenage love include the following:

Johnson, Dave.2000. MOVIN’ TEEN POETS TAKE VOICE. Orchard  Books. ISBN 9780531302583

Giovanni, Nikki. 2003. PAINT ME LIKE I AM: TEEN POEMS. Harper Tempest. ISBN 9780064472647

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. 2010. THE DREAMER. ILL. by Peter Sís. NY, New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439269704

B. PLOT SUMMARY

Neftalí is a dreamer who loves words and nature. His father demands that he be realistic and focus on his studies. Neftalí learns to listen to his inter voice and trust himself. This book is about the twentieth century poet Pablo Neruda who defies his father and follows his dreams.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
THE DREAMER by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Peter Sís provides the reader with a fascinating blend of poetry, historical fiction, imaginary biography, and a gimps into the life of a young boy with a steadfast determination to follow his dream. The text and illustrations take the reader on a remarkable journey into the heart and imagination of the Chilean born Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda, who received the Prize for Literature in 1971.  

THE DREAMER offers the reader several Chilean cultural markers relating to the setting, physical environment, characters names, language patterns, traditions, and support of the family, and the treatment of the indigenous people of Chile. The first cultural marker is the historical setting. The story takes place in the early 1900s in Temuco, Chile. Ryan offers the reader the following Chilean region cultural markers in the story: “Andes Mountains,” “Mount Llaima,” “River Cautin, “Labranza,” “Boroa,” and “Ranquilco.” Next, the physical environment is another cultural marker in the story. The characters live in a rural and impoverished area of Chile. The following cultural markers, relating to the characters physical surroundings are provided in the story: “Water mysteriously trilled . . . worming its way indoors,”  “Weepy puddles dripped from the ceiling, filling the pots that had been poised to catch them,” “Rodolfo navigated the muddy street by leaping from stone to stone,” “the makeshift walls of his timid house,” and “the haphazard design of the room with incomplete stairs . . . deserted in the middle of constructions,” are authentic cultural markers of the how the characters existed in their surroundings.

Many of the characters names are cultural markers too: “Rodolfo, Jose Reyes, Orlando, Laurita, Mamadre, Valeria, Guillermo, Enrique, and Blanca. Moreover, the characters language patterns are cultural markers in THE DREAMER: “un perro callejero,” “el viento,” Buena suerte,” and “Libiamo, libiamo ne’ lieti calici che la belleza infiora . . .” Further, the physical characteristics of the people are cultural markers in the story. For instance, the reference to the Mapuche people of Chile, offers a cultural marker to a group of people in Temuco, Chile. In addition, the author’s notes shares Neftalí’s awareness of the unjust treatment of the Mapuche people, during this period in Chilean history. Moreover, Pablo Neruda poems focus on the social inequities and difficulties of the Mapuche people.

Finally, Neftalí does not have the support of his totalitarian father, who insists that his sons embark on a career in medicine or business.  He labels Neftalí as a dreamer. Neftalí’s father shares, “Stop that incessant daydreaming! Do you want to be a skinny weakling forever and amount to nothing? Your mother was the same, scribbling on bits of paper, her mind always in another world.” Conversely, he does have the support of his Uncle Orlando, step sister and brother, a few friends and Mamadre, his step mother. Manadre consoles Neftalí and shares, “Your mother did not die from her imagination.  It was a fever. And look at me. I am small and many say much too thin. I may not appear big and strong on the outside, but I am perfectly capable on the inside . . . just like you.”

In the beginning of the story, Neftalí submissively surrenders to his father’s directives and abandons his love for nature and books. However, by the end of the story, Neftalí develops from an inhibited boy to a strong and determined young man. The language in the book is poetic and inserts some lines from actual poems by Pablo Neruda. The back of the book contains several of Neftalí poems.

Peter Sís adds luminosity and ghostly brilliancy to the illustrations of a young boy soaring on a winged tipped pen, a spoon filled with a snow capped mountain, a dark menacing father, and the metamorphosis of a timid boy to a young adult, soaring across the pages of time.

D. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

AWARDS

Pura Belpré Award

School Library Journal

The perfect marriage of text and art offers an excellent introduction to one of the world's most famous poets. An appended author's note gives further insight into Neruda's beliefs and accomplishments.”

Booklist

“Ryan and Sís collaborate to create a stirring, fictionalized portrait of a timid boy’s flowering artistry. The neat squares of Sís’ meticulously stippled illustrations, richly symbolic in their own right, complement and deepen the lyrical quality of the book. This book has all the feel of a classic, elegant and measured, but deeply rewarding and eminently readable.”

The Horn Book

“The book is an immaculately crafted and inspiring piece of magical realism.”

E. CONNECTIONS

Using the internet, students may look up information about the country of Chile—its geography, climate, political history, and indigenous people, especially the Mapuche and share their discovery with their peers.

Other books by Pam Munoz Ryan:

BECOMING NOAMI LEON ISBN: 9780439269971

PAINT THE WIND ISBN: 9780545101769

RIDING FREEDOM ISBN: 9780439087964

Pam Muñoz Ryan's Web site:

http://www.pammunozryan.com/